Medical Licensing Board rejected a motion for summary judgment and will review evidence at a future hearing

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, hearings were scheduled for three Indianapolis abortion doctors regarding administrative licensing complaints before the Indiana Medical Licensing Board. The complaints were filed in Sept. 2014 by Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office for alleged violations of abortion procedure record keeping and advice and consent laws. American Civil Liberties Union attorneys urged the Medical Licensing Board to drop the case, but the Board rejected a motion for summary judgment and will schedule a future hearing to review evidence.

Abortion doctors Resad Pasic, Kathleen Glover and Raymond Robinson perform abortions at the Clinic for Women on West 16th Street in Indianapolis.

Right to Life of Indianapolis President Marc Tuttle, who was present at today’s hearing, said, “We are pleased this case is moving forward and that the abortion doctors from the Clinic for Women are being held accountable. We believe poor practices in the areas of record keeping and advice and consent laws show a blatant disregard for women’s health and safety. These alleged violations must be addressed. We urge the Medical Licensing Board to swiftly schedule the future hearing.”

The Indiana Medical Licensing Board will soon hear more alleged violations in the abortion industry. Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, who runs licensed abortion facilities in Fort Wayne, South Bend and Gary, is tentatively scheduled to appear before the Board on June 25. Klopfer’s hearing is the result of the Attorney General’s filing of an administrative complaint against Klopfer’s license, comprised of 1,833 alleged violations or counts.

Indiana Right to Life’s mission is to protect the right to life, especially of unborn children, through positive education, compassionate advocacy and promotion of healthy alternatives to abortion.

Right to Life of Indianapolis exists to promote respect for the worth and dignity of all human life, including the lives of the unborn from the moment of conception, and the disabled and the elderly, until their natural death.

INDIANAPOLIS – A bill allowing the development and future use of newborn safety incubators is headed to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for his signature. Newborn safety incubators would provide an additional method for the safe surrender of newborns as an alternative to abandonment. After the bill, HB 1016, passed unanimously in the House and the Senate, the House voted 85-0 on Thursday to concur with the Senate’s changes.

The Senate updated the bill regarding newborn safety incubator locations and asked the Commission on the Status of Children to review additional enhancements and the state’s existing Safe Haven law. HB 1016 is the first step in a two-step process to allow the use of newborn safety incubators at certain Safe Haven sites. The Indiana Department of Health will move forward with the development of standards and protocols for the medical-like devices, which will allow for implementation in July 2016, pending further approval by the Indiana General Assembly. Results from the Commission’s review and the Indiana Department of Health’s standards and protocols will be reviewed for final implementation approval in the 2016 General Assembly session.

If a baby is surrendered in a newborn safety incubator, an alarm will immediately alert first responders to retrieve the baby.

“Newborn safety incubators give mothers an anonymous option to surrender a newborn if she can’t care for the child,” stated Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “Critics point out the imperfections of newborn safety incubators. They aren’t perfect, but a mother utilizing a newborn safety incubator is in an imperfect situation. A newborn safety incubator saves the child and protects a mother from legal ramifications if she abandons the child elsewhere in secret.

“Less than four months ago, a newborn baby was found dead in an Indianapolis park. We never want to see these sad headlines. We believe the introduction of newborn safety incubators, along with targeted awareness of the law, could help stem newborn abandonments in the state. Of course, we will continue to promote options available to a mother in a difficult situation before she even has to consider a newborn safety incubator surrender.

“We look forward to having the state study the best options for implementing and raising awareness of newborn safety incubators. We thank the General Assembly for its strong support of this bill, especially Rep. Casey Cox of Fort Wayne for leading the effort.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, the Indiana House passed a bill regarding the disposal of aborted fetal remains, SB 329, on its third reading. The bill requires the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to adopt clear rules for how abortion facilities shall dispose of fetal remains. The bill passed 79 to 18.

During committee hearings on SB 329, legislators heard from Marianne Anderson, a former nurse at Planned Parenthood in Indianapolis, who witnessed aborted baby body parts being dropped down the drain into the sewer system without treating the parts in any way. They also heard from Cathie Humbarger, Executive Director of Allen County Right to Life, who shared a news account of a baby’s body, estimated between 14-15 weeks gestational age, which was found in the rotating screens of the Fort Wayne water treatment facility.

“Aborted babies’ bodies should not be treated carelessly,” stated Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “This bill establishes a standard for aborted remains disposal that gives respect to the aborted baby, the pregnant woman and the abortion staff. We heartily thank our legislators for passing this measure and we look forward to Gov. Mike Pence signing it into law.”